BigData Analytics for Small Business – 3 Tips from Image Marketing Consultants

BigData is the powerful tool businesses are leveraging to gain insight about the customers and clients, develop new products and services, identify new segments to enter, and figure out fresh competitive advantages. Small businesses often assume this is out of their reach. How could they aggregate all that data, filter it through gigantic computers, analyze the patterns, and then apply that to their enterprises? They don’t have the expertise or the budget.

However, Image Marketing Consultants has 3 tips for how small businesses can also gain access to the information they need.

Mine Search Engines and Social Media. One way of collecting data is to plow through what comes in to you from what’s posted on search engines about your enterprise and on your social media. Just like the experts, you will be able to discern patterns. For example, the keyword “affordable” occurs more and more often in relation to your products. That could provide the feedback you need to move ahead and position your branding as the affordable choice among the competition.

Read What Large Companies Are Doing. The media are filled with coverage of how a large company like American Express is applying what it is discovering from its data analysis to improve its revenues and profits. For example, American Express saw that those without bank accounts could be a whole new market for a digital wallet. Today, American Express has among its partners Wal-Mart for this growing line of business. Small businesses can gain ideas about what they might be able to create through partnership, both in terms of product/service offerings and where to market them.

Gather Data. Before the era of supercomputers businesses established informal ways to find out what they needed to know and, if they are smart, they are still doing that. That could simply be asking customers or prospects what they wanted and then really listen. It could be conducting a free survey through Survey Monkey. Or it could be walking through competitors’ stores or restaurants and figuring out what they’re doing that they aren’t and could be.

There is that old adage that information is power. That’s even more true in this fast-changing environment.

Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, welcomes you to a complimentary consultation for your marketing, partnership, public relations, special events, and social media needs kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.